Project Helps Students Make A Difference In Iraq

November 08, 2003|By JESSICA HANTHORN Daily Press

SUFFOLK — Pencils and pens fill the desks in Ken Carmody's fifth-grade classroom at Driver Elementary. A plastic crate at each student's desk is crammed full of books. Backpacks are stuffed with school supplies and shelves of books line the walls.

But on the wall is a photo of a classroom in Iraq, where children share bare desks without a pencil or book in sight. The photo serves as a reminder of how lucky his students are to go to school in a place with adequate supplies, Carmody said.

The students wanted to share some of their supplies with children who might not have any, so the class is participating in a project called Operation Pencil Sharpener and sending school supplies to classrooms in Tikrit.

One student's father is part of the Army's 475th Quartermaster Company, which helped rebuild two schools in the city.

The project helps the children learn they can make a difference in war-torn Iraq, Carmody said.

"It's just important for them to realize how much they have and how much neediness is out there," he said.

So far the class has sent three shipments to Iraq. The first contained supplies for the troops, but the class later found out about the need for school supplies.

"Probably the most important thing they learn is that there are a lot of people less fortunate than them," Carmody said. "And each child in this school can make a difference."

Students in the class hope their donations will help promote peace in Iraq. They were surprised when they saw the Iraq classroom and compared it with their own.

"They don't have anything but a desk," said Mark Grenga, who is 10. "It felt kind of good knowing that you helped people."

The class wants to help others, said Taquana Pierce, whose father is in the Army unit that helped rebuild the school.

"They will stop thinking that we're the bad guys," she said. "We're trying to help, and we're building new schools."

TO DONATE

To donate school supplies, call Nancy Harrell at 538-5405.

Jessica Hanthorn can be reached at 247-4537 or by e-mail at jhanthorn@dailypress.com